A young woman has been found, brutally murdered and left on gruesome display…in the “safety” of her own home. The atrocity kicks off an investigation into a bizarre string of increasingly disturbing murders, all believed to be perpetrated by someone of unprecedented savagery and cunning.

As the city’s panic rises, civil attorney Teddy Mack is thrown headlong into the grisly homicide case—and into a world of dirty politics and corrupt justice, where deceptions are as deadly as a killer’s twisted secrets. Now, another woman is about to meet the same horrific fate as the others. To end a madman’s reign, Teddy must enter his maze—a place of unimaginable terror…and shocking revelations.

With his second thriller, L.A. Times bestselling author, Robert Ellis, delivers an explosive read with full-blown characters caught in a world stacked with twists and turns and an emotional intensity that burns white-hot.

I don't believe I have 'Dr. O,' which sounds intriguing. I'll have to pick it up when it's free. All of his books are going to be free at some time or another. Hey! He's an Indie writer, isn't he!?

I think he's doing better as an Indie writer than when he was in print, with so-called "commercial" publishers. The original paperback publisher of Dr. O was going through the usual turmoil when that one came out, so they put his pen name on the cover and IIRC his real name on the title page. And I think his self-published cover is better than the bleh Zebra cover. (It actually has Dr. O on it. )

I swear, I might still read his book on writing. Midlist writers like Walker can teach us more about writing than we realize because a lot of them have great attitudes about work ethic, fighting off writer's block, storytelling, etc. Now if only he had proofread that darn book.

I think we can learn a lot from writers who have been screwed over by the publishers. I once attended a writing conference where the keynote speaker was a local mystery/suspense author who had just lost her contract with a major paperback house in one of those "in-house sweeps" of midlist authors. She gave a great talk about what can happen when a writer who actually sells on a steady basis is hurt simply because of the industry, and she talked about important things like how specializing in a genre can help your career. I actually overheard some smart-ass writer in the audience asking "What can she teach us? She lost her contract." What?! But that smart-ass writer had never heard the word "genre" before, I kid you not. And of course, he had no contract to lose as he was unpublished.

Real estate agent, Violet "Spooky" Parker stumbles upon a body-part theft ring at the local funeral parlor and suspects her caustic coworker has a hand in it--or maybe a foot. Can Violet discover what's in the crates the crooks are sneaking out of the mortuary in the dark of night? Or will she end up in one of them herself ... in pieces?

Open Road is having some bundles on sale. The prices aren't fantastic, but the best deal could be with a Kobo coupon. Available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Sony, Google, BOB, and Apple. Links for all stores except BOB and B&N are inside the links below (not an affiliate tag - just from their newsletter):

Three compelling and unforgettable mysteries by Edgar Award winner David Housewright

Holland Taylor is comfortable in interrogation rooms. For years the cold, dark cells of the Minneapolis homicide squad were his turf, and with the help of his partner he wrung confessions out of countless killers. But that was long ago. In Penance,Taylor is on the other side of the desk. Tonight he is the suspect.

Taylor’s career in the department ended after his wife and daughter were killed in a drunk driving accident. The culprit, John Brown, was sentenced to a measly six years for vehicular manslaughter, and Taylor vowed bloody vengeance in front of open court. After a few months of freedom, Brown is shot dead, and Taylor, now a private investigator, is called in as the obvious suspect. He didn’t kill Brown, but he will find out who did—even if it means tearing Minneapolis apart from the inside out.

In Dearly Departed, Holland Taylor discovers a recording made by a woman named Alison Emerton explaining that if she is missing, it is because Raymond Fleck killed her. Fleck, a convicted rapist, lost his job at a kennel after Alison accused him of sexual harassment and stalking. She vanished soon after, leaving behind her wallet, coat, and boots, on a night when twenty-three inches of snow fell on Minneapolis. Her lawyer has hired Taylor to find her. But as Taylor digs into Alison’s past, he learns that Fleck was not the only person who wanted her dead.

In Practice to Deceive, Florida widow and retiree Irene Gustafson is rich and alone. Following the advice of Ann Landers, Gustafson hands her money over to an investment manager. The returns are steady until he starts investing in Willow Tree, a low-income housing development on the fringes of the Twin Cities. The money vanishes, and the widow is destitute. That’s where Holland Taylor, Minneapolis private detective, comes in. His recently retired parents are her neighbors, and they want Taylor to recover the old lady’s money. It seems impossible, but as he investigates Willow Tree he finds a twisted real-estate conspiracy with deep roots in city politics—and a vicious killer hired to protect the secret.

Stocky, sweaty, and bald, LeVine is a Jewish private detective who makes a living by being polite. But underneath his smile lies a bulldog. In The Big Kiss-off of 1944, fledgling actress Kerry Lane comes to Jack LeVine when a blackmailer demands a payoff to keep a series of stag films from her past out of the public eye. Lured by long legs and a roll of crisp twenties, LeVine takes Kerry’s case. But before he can speak to the blackmailer, the crook turns up dead. As LeVine hunts for Kerry’s old films, he finds that the heart of this case is even uglier than greed, lust, or murder. It’s politics.

In Hollywood and LeVine, screenwriter Walter Adrian seeks the advice of high school buddy Jack LeVine. Studio execs suspect that Adrian is a Communist, and they’re lowballing his salary as a result. Though he insists he isn’t a Red, Adrian has no way of proving it. LeVine is broke, and has no sympathy for his wealthy friend, but he agrees to fly west to investigate his old classmate’s trouble. When he arrives, Adrian hangs dead from the gallows at the Western set on the Warners’ backlot. Behind his friend’s death, LeVine finds a shadowy Cold War conspiracy, and a city far darker than anything Hollywood puts on screen.

In Tender Is LeVine, Jack LeVine is just emerging from a vicious funk after the 1948 death of his father. His first client is a German violinist, who visits LeVine out of concern for his maestro, Toscanini, the famous conductor of the NBC Symphony Orchestra. The maestro’s memory is slipping, his conducting style has changed, and his eyesight is suddenly vastly improved. The violinist suspects that the conductor has disappeared and been replaced by a double. It’s an outlandish suspicion, but LeVine takes the case. After all, somebody has to pay for his new office. Soon enough, LeVine finds out that organized crime is playing the tune . . .

Stuff to Spy for by Don Bruns is free from Oceanview. Third novel in this series.

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Best friends James Lessor and Skip Moore are still stuck in dead-end jobs, still living in their ratty apartment in Carol City, Florida, and still dreaming of hitting the big time. It seems those dreams are finally within reach when James lands a job to install a state-of-the-art security system for Synco Systems. There's a huge commission-and plenty of strings-attached. To collect on the cash, James will have to provide additional services by assuming the role of pretend boyfriend of Sarah Crumbly, an employee who's having an affair with Sandler Conroy, Synco's married president.When Sandler's wife offers James a tidy sum for the dirty details about what's going on at Synco, James and Skip resurrect their entrepreneurial dreams and go into the business of being spies. The spymobile-their beloved, rattletrap of a boxtruck-is on its last legs, and they'll have to spend a small fortune on spy equipment, but there's no business like spy business.In this spy game, James and Skip may be the ones who get played-or worse.

From Publishers Weekly:
Ken Rex McElroy terrorized the residents of several counties in northwestern Missouri for a score of years. He raped young girls and brutalized them after they went to live with him or even married him; he shot at least two men; he stole cattle and hogs, and burned down the houses of some who interfered with his criminal activities. Thanks to the expert efforts of his lawyer and the pro-defendant bias of state laws, he served no more than a few days in jail, the author shows. In 1981, sentenced for the shooting of a popular grocer and free on bail, he was killed by the men of Skidmore, the center of his felonies; they closed ranks against all attempts to identify those who had pulled the triggers. Written by a first-time author, this is an engrossing, credible examination of the way vigilante action can take over when the law appears to be powerless.

Private investigator Richard Steele must solve his most difficult case ever—his own murder—while caught between women on both sides of the grave. In a race against time as his spirit slips away, Richard must confront his many, many failings and trust in a power beyond his understanding--love. His only weapon is faith, and he's running out of bullets. It's going to be a hell of a showdown.

Mitford: I saw your post about Charlotte Jay in the other thread. I so wish we could get her here. I had a couple of her books from B&N for my Rocket Ebook back in about 1998 and lost them in the shuffle. I think that was before all the geographic restrictions. I thought even better than Beat Not the Bones was A Hank of Hair. Really bizarre and creepy. She is very good at creating an uneasy atmosphere.

The killer liked to watch them drown. First they gasped for breath. Then they thrashed around. Why did they even bother to struggle? They all ended up the same; floating dead in the water.

Dr. Dean Grant, head of Criminal Forensic Medicine, was Chicago's expert on serial killings. Corpses were his business. But Grant's skills, cunning, and experience may not be enough to stop a psychopath from turning the city into his own private drowning pool.

(Approximately 80,000 words. This is the first book in the Dean Grant series.)

One reviewer describes this as a 'sinker' and not a 'floater.' It's garnered fair-to-middling reviews. Poor proofreading skills are cited, along with non-existent research. (Only 4 people have bothered to review it on Amazon, so it's possible some of the reviewers' comments are wrong. Yet, somehow, I don't think so.)

Well, I don't have this, so I'll get it. Any questions will be referred to my lawyer.

Murder by Magic by Leslie Cookman is now free. This is #10 in the series that was on sale for $.99 each last month.

Quote:

The tenth book in the Libby Sarjeant series of British murder mysteries which feature a retired actress as the female sleuth and are based in the picturesque village of Steeple Martin.

Libby Sarjeant and her friend Fran Wolfe are asked to look into the sudden and unexplained death of a devoted churchgoer. The police appear to have lost interest, but the villagers are certain that their new lady vicar has something to do with it! But if it is murder, how was it done?

Death on the Aegean by Marla Hudgkins is free again. Third in the Dotsy Lamb Travel Mysteries from Gale, imprint of Cengage Learning, and previously published in paper by Five Star.

Quote:

George Gaskill, a car salesman from Indiana, goes missing from the stern deck of the Aegean Queen leaving only a pool of blood and a strange note behind. Ollie Osgood, the husband of Dotsy Lamb's best friend Lettie, is the last person to have seen him and one of three men who lost a bundle to George in a Texas Hold'em Poker game. Then the ship's photographer turns up murdered on the beautiful island of Mykonos.

Dotsy wants only to unwind and to renew her promising relationship with Marco Quattrocchi, the Carabinieri captain she met in Italy three years ago, but since Ollie is the prime suspect in George's disappearance and Marco is embroiled in the photographer's murder, she can't.

The Aegean Queen is a ship with a theme--archaeology. Dotsy strikes up a friendship with the ship's guest lecturer, famous archaeologist, Dr. Luc Girard, and introduces him to the ship's klutziest dancer, Sophie Antonakos. With the help of Lettie Osgood's amazing powers of observation, Dotsy, Sophie, and Luc discover antiquities in the ship's display cases that have been looted from museums or smuggled from their homelands.

The trails of murder and theft converge on the island of Crete where Dotsy finds herself dodging bullets from the gun of a man she doesn't even know.

Mitford: I saw your post about Charlotte Jay in the other thread. I so wish we could get her here. I had a couple of her books from B&N for my Rocket Ebook back in about 1998 and lost them in the shuffle. I think that was before all the geographic restrictions. I thought even better than Beat Not the Bones was A Hank of Hair. Really bizarre and creepy. She is very good at creating an uneasy atmosphere.

NightBird,
I was able to get "Beat the Bones" for Kindle, but doesn't look like "A Hank of Hair" is available. Would be nice if hopefully that publisher can expand their e-presence in the future - it's so interesting to discover, or re-discover, the older books.